From the Sellers...
4701 23rd Ave SW was our first home. We arrived in 1999 with a gaggle of roommates and family. We started expanding and reviving the best parts of the house to fit our lives. The deck hosted many summer bbq's. The kitchen launched as many amazing dinners. So much laughter and conversation.
We got married here. Jackson and Ruby arrived. And as our family shifted toward little people, our home did too.
After using a lone toilet, a porcelain island in the middle of the completely unfinished basement, for several years, we added walls. And we wanted those walls sexy--red and purple and homey. (Then we got pregnant again:) And we blew out the kitchen walls. Over time, the house transformed.
The move away from 4701 is going to be difficult because we love it here. There few other places in Seattle that feel so private while still having a central locale. Cottage Grove feels that way. 4701 especially, because it perches halfway down the hill between 23rd and Cottage Lane, with city greenspace on its northern side. It's surrounded by folliage.
West Seattle has the largest urban forest in the city and 4701 is in the middle of it. Camp Long, Longfellow Creek, Duwamish Greenbelt are all major reserves. The greenspaces that connect those set-asides are passages for birds and animals that still live in the city. Salmon return to Longfellow Creek. Bald eagles. When we moved here there, a red fox used to pass through our yard. For being urban, it feels remarkably uncramped.
But its time for us to go. As we put finishing touches on our varied incomplete projects, we are reliving so many good memories. There is so much hope here. So much love has been poured into this home. So many wonderful people have been a part of it. We are overwhelmed.
We want its next owners to love it too.
Joe, Des, Jackson, & Ruby
(And Roxy, Mike, Kevin, Phil, Marney, Bre, Reilly, John, Skip, Nicole, Dave...)
